(Easy-Peasy!) Keto Churros ⚡ gluten free & grain free

You’ll be surprised how easy it is to whip up a batch of these grain free and keto churros! And (most importantly!) how akin they are to the original version… at only 1g net carbs a pop!

Gluten Free & Keto Churros

Grain Free & Keto Churros

The Real Deal

I’m very (veeeery!) excited to share this recipe for keto churros with y’all. First, you must know that I’m half Mexican (Paola here!!), so getting churros properly right was a challenge. And second, that they’re actually suuuuper easy to make (for real).

The one thing is that they aren’t as crispy as traditional churros. As many of you may’ve noticed, the keto grain free flours generally stay on the softer side. So since the recipe was first published in 2018, I’ve played around with quite a few different variants (all yielding similar results).

My suggestion? If you really want them to be super crisp, just throw in a tiny bit of cheese. Yup, for real! I got this hack from our cheese puffs, which turn out beautifully crisp. You’ll be adding much less though, and with all the toppings you won’t bat an eye lash!

Oh! And if you don’t want to get into frying, feel free to check out the churro donuts!

The Method

This recipe is very akin to traditional Mexican churros, with the batter essentially being a choux pastry (used to make anything from eclairs to gougeres). But this is just a fancy way of saying that you first boil together water with sugar, butter and salt. Adding in the flour and cooking it until it forms into a ball. And step three, mixing in the eggs off the stove.

After some experimenting, it turned out that making a proper choux pastry keto is totally doable, and with excellent results. As in the keto churros could’ve fooled anyone (and they did). Again, for real.

Now when you mix in the eggs the dough will be very stiff and take a few minutes to incorporate fully. The final dough will also be rather stiff and form into a ball easily, but also very elastic (courtesy of the eggs and xanthan gum). You can also always use a hand mixer here, but we don’t think it merits getting an extra appliance dirty.

For the shaping you’ll need a pastry bag (disposable ones are terrific) and a star tip (think Ateco #824). We also piped out the churros 6 to 7 inches long (Mexican-style!). But you can of course also do miniature ones.

Now for the frying. I did coconut oil (couldn’t really taste it with all the cinnamon on top), but you can also use anything from lard to refined coconut oil (if you’re very bothered by the taste). You also don’t need a lot of it, think 1/2 to 1 inch-deep. So start small and add more if needed. The trick to saving a truck-load of oil is to pipe the dough towards you across the length of the pot, rather than dropping it it. The churros float anyways, so no need to have a pot-full of it.

The one detail to note is that these take longer to fry, and you want to give them the time to get nice and golden as they’ll crisp up more after cooling for a few minutes.

Oh and you can always refrigerate the dough overnight (fully covered so it doesn’t get crusty). Just be sure to bring the dough back to room temperature before using again.

The Flours

And don’t skip the psyllium husk. It helps retain moisture, create structure (i.e. it’s highly responsible for the killer crumb). And it just so happens to be a killer source of fiber.

Borrowed from molecular cooking, xanthan gum is the binding agent which makes your toothpaste jelly-like (and your cream cheese, well cream cheese-like). And it’s also the most common gluten-replacer in gluten free baking. And there’s absolutely no skipping it here!

In all honesty, no substituting anything here. You really do need the full combo of grain free flours to get the choux just right.

In terms of brands, for the almond either Anthony’s or WellBees work great. Both are super fine grinds. And for the coconut, we always favor Anthony’s.

The Sweetener

The choux pastry to make churros is always very lightly sweetened (and fairly bland solo), think just a couple tablespoons. But this is really to accommodate for a generous cinnamon sugar dusting. So to sweeten the keto choux pastry itself you can use anything from sugar alcohols (erythritol and xylitol) and allulose.

Now for the cinnamon ‘sugar’ coating, allulose or xylitol are probably your best bet for the most sugar-like result. Having said that, if you’re not too bothered by the cooling aftertaste of erythritol (which gets greatly diminished by the cinnamon), it works great too.

And if just grain free, coconut sugar is your best bet here. And of course, raw sugar works great too.

And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys! 🐕

Heat up water, butter, sweetener and salt in medium pot (or Dutch oven) until it just begins to simmer. Lower heat to low and add in flour mixture, mixing constantly to incorporate. Continue to cook and stir until the dough pulls away from the pan and forms into a ball, 1-3 minutes.

Transfer dough back to the bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes. The dough should still be warm, but not hot enough to scramble the eggs.

Add in one egg at a time, mixing until fully incorporated. The dough will be very stiff, but keep going until fully mixed in. Mix in vanilla extract. The final dough should still be stiff and form into a ball easily, but will also be very elastic. You can use a hand mixer here, but we prefer not to get another appliance dirty here. NOTE: If you want your churros extra crisp, feel free to mix in a touch of a neutral cheese (think mozzarella, see notes).

Allow the dough to rest until it comes to room temperature (10-15 minutes), prepping your frying station in the meantime. We found that with as little as 3/4 to 1-inch deep oil these guys fry great. So we suggest you start with a little oil and add in more if need be. Just be sure to use a pot with high-sides for safety and that your oil is nice and hot (350°F if we're being precise).

Spoon dough into a piping bag with a star tip (say #824 works great). Pipe out a strip of dough into the hot oil, snipping off the end with kitchen shears (or clean scissors!). Pipe out however many fit comfortably in your pot (we did 4 x 7-inch long ones at a time). Fry until deeply golden 2-5 minutes (really depends on your temperature, pot etc here so just keep an eye out for the first ones). Flip them over and continue to fry until deep golden all over.

Transfer churros to a paper towel-lined plate, and toss in the sweetener and cinnamon coating mix while still warm.

Like any type of churro, these are best enjoyed just-fried! But, they're also surprisingly good the day after a quick warm up in your oven (or electric oven!). Oh, and you can always refrigerate the dough overnight (fully covered in the pastry bag so it doesn't get crusty). Just be sure to bring the dough back to room temperature before using again.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

*Please see section on Sweeteners for more deets and possible substitution.

**As many of you may’ve noticed, the keto grain free flours generally stay on the softer side. My suggestion? If you really want them to be super crisp, just throw in a tiny bit of cheese. Yup, for real! I got this hack from our cheese puffs, which turn out beautifully crisp. You’ll be adding much less though, and with all the toppings you won’t bat an eye lash!

Please note that nutrition facts were estimated per one 7-inch large churro, and I found a batch to yield about fifteen.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten Free, Grain Free & Keto Churros

Amount Per Serving

Calories 70Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Fat 6g9%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Cholesterol 29mg10%

Sodium 78mg3%

Potassium 8mg0%

Carbohydrates 2g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 125IU3%

Calcium 15mg2%

Iron 0.3mg2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Share the yummy-ness! 📷💨

If you made this recipe (or got a question!), be sure to simply comment below!

And do share your photo with your favorite Facebook group or tag @gnomgnom.yum on Instagram (I love seeing them all!!)

I just made a half batch of these in prep for a cinco de mayo party tomorrow and I’ve polished almost all of them off already 🤷🏼‍♀️. I made them with the mozzarella. They still aren’t quite as crispy and crunchy as traditional churros, but they taste fantastic. Thank you for the recipe!

Jeebuzzzzz, Paola!!!! Best Christmas gift, EVAHHH!! I constantly crave churros. I knew there had to be a way… I only found your blog, last week, and hasn’t had a chance to really explore, but am making am all-keto appetizer buffet, for tomorrow night. There are only 2 of us, but our family who are coming aren’t doing keto, and we want ALL of us to honestly love what we put on the table. Thank you, for helping make that happen!

First of all, let me say these tasted fantastic! However, I did have some trouble with these. I had a hard time getting them to cook all the way. They were wet and seemed to stay wet. Even after I got them to cook up all the way, they seemed a little wet inside. And they never got a crisp texture. I tried cooking them longer and they got more brown. I ended up baking the fried ones to get them to cook fully and then tried baking the others and frying at the end to get the taste right. The pre-fried ones tasted the best, as they got a bit of a carnival grease taste, which was nice. But again, I don’t think they ever lost the moist taste in the center. Did yours get crisp? Again, the taste was great, so I’ll prob do it again, but unless you have a hint as to why they didn’t get crispy, I may stick to baking like a donut, where you don’t expect it to get crispy. Any ideas?

Okay, so. I lost my piping top I usually use for churros and I was so sad. I had this puny star tip. I decided to try it anyway. I ended up accidentally creating a funnel cake! It was so so good! Now to get the correct size piping top for churros 🤤

Hi Jacky! That’s awesome to hear! If they were limp/soggy, you probably just needed to cook them longer. These are less crisp than regular churros though as stated in the post (grain free ‘flours’ simply behave differently). But you can always pop them in the oven for 10-15mins to crisp up more xo!

I am SO excited to see all the Mexican food recipes!! I’ve missed it the most. I tried a recipe with English cheddar cheese, cream cheese and ground pork rind for taco shells, way too greasy! So looking forward to browsing your recipes!

I want to make the churros (and donuts!) but am tired of the coconut taste in everything. Can I sub a different flour or use all almond flour with good results? Thank you!

You sound very adamant on sticking to the recipe, but what are your thoughts on dairy/vegan substitutes? I imagine vegan butter would be easy, but what would I want to look for in an egg substitute? I usually use chickpea brine, but it can be a little liquidy. Ive heard that chia paste can have a little thicker consistency. Which would be best for the dough?

Hi Lauren! Sticking to the flours is paramount, but you can do certain modifications to the other ingredients. The butter yes can be easily substituted by either coconut oil or vegan butter.

The eggs, however, cannot be substituted if you want the ‘same’ results. Chia eggs will give it a denser structure, etc. I’ve not tried chickpea brine etc as I follow a grain free diet. But just keep in mind that (at least from my experience) there really is no perfect sub for eggs in gluten free baking (and eggs are particularly important to provide structure in choux pastries).

Laura you literally made me crack up because I just finished perfecting a recipe for caramel (very much like proper Mexican cajeta!), which will be perfect for the churros. Will likely be up sometime next week 😉 xo!

Omg! I’m so excited about this recipe!! I love everything I’ve made from your recipes. I would really love to see you come up with a way to make a real cream puff pastry that would bake up and then be able to get filled with a great cream mixture. It’s the one recipe I’ve been trying to find since starting my Ketogenic lifestyle. Thank you for amazing recipes. They’ve changed my life.

Hi Wendy! That’s so wonderful to hear, glad you’re enjoying the recipes!! I’m working on the cream puffs (and from the looks of it a few other readers are working on it too!). I still haven’t been able to get them properly puffy, but during the trials I’ve found that the dough will work great for a bunch other things too! 🙂 xo!

My dough was wetter than what I thought you said it would be. I let dough cool , put in food processor to incorporate eggs (that is how I have always made it for cream puffs with regular dough. Might add more sweeteners and less salt. But so thrilled with it..not changing anything else for first try.

The wonderful thing with gnom-gnom is that when I think I cannot get wow-ed any more, you come out with something like this and the wow-ing starts all over again! Cannot wait to make these Paola thank you!

Oh Paola, I went to pastry school and thought I would never be able to really bake the things I liked again! I am going to try the choux for eclairs and see how they turn out! Thank you from the bottom of my tummy!

It’s my absolute pleasure Jennifer! I’m VERY excited about this choux as I can see quite a few possibilities already. If you’re testing it for eclairs, I have found though that when baked (and keep in mind that I’m still testing) it works better with 1 tablespoon less of coconut flour (so 3 tbs rather than 1/4 cup). The loser dough helps them puff up more. xo and hope you enjoy!!

Am just on Isla Holbox in Mexico and having to sadly bypass the Churro stand in the village square. Cannot wait to make these when I get home! Otherwise lowcarbing is pretty easy with ceviche, guacamole ( with cucumber rounds); lots of suuuper fresh fish😉, salads, nuts,seeds, cheese, olive oil. What are your thoughts on using this choux pastry to bake with eg to make cream puffs or profiteroles?

Hi Ellen! Holbox is SO beautiful!! And I get you, no struggle at all to stay keto with all that good food! ENJOY!

And yes, I’m experimenting a bunch with this choux pastry and it’ll be excellent for puffs, profiteroles and eclairs alike (plus a few other more unexpected surprises!). I have found though that when baked (and keep in mind that I’m still testing) it works best with 1 tablespoon less of coconut flour (so 3 tbs rather than 1/4 cup). The loser dough helps them puff up more. Hope you enjoy! xo

I just made these and they are fabulous! Just fried 3 4” ones as is just me and if I make more will just eat them. I may use a sl smaller star tip for the next batch as they are a bit bigger then I’d like. But , oh, they are delicious. Thanks so much for this recipe. What is the likelihood of finding the ingredients for these in Puerto Vallarta? Am act considering packing a bag of almond flour, some coconut flour, erythritol, xanthum, psyllium as will have a kitchen there when I go next week and look fwd to doing some cooking with all the wonderful fresh ingredients. The pasta dough is in the fridge(tortilla dough minus bak pdr) to be tried tomorrow. The tortillas are a big hit with everyone I have fed them too. I am gonna use this churro batter to try and make Danish Aebleskiver, little pingpong size shape pancake balls one cooks in a special pan that looks like an escargot pan. Fingers crossed! Will report back. Thanks for all your hard work!

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